Rosh Hashanah is complete because through His sacrifice I know I can be written in the Book of Life on this traditional judgment day. Faith in Messiah creates the opportunity for a new spiritual beginning because I am now a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Concerning an additional future fulfillment of Messiah in this holiday, a look at Leviticus 23:-25-25 refers to Rosh hashanah as "the day of the sounding of the shofar." God commanded the people to sound a ram's horn and to gather for a great convocation. This foreshadows 1 Corinthians 15:52. When Messiah returns, "the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible." Jesus will further fulfill Rosh Hashanah upon His second coming.(1)

The 10 Days of Awe are complete for the believer in Jesus. We are thankful that we are assured to be written in the Book of Life. It is still an excellent opportunity to examine where we are on our spiritual walk with God. These ten days of Awe can be seen as our lifetime.

With faith in Christ, we have a new beginning (2 Corinthians 5:17). This can resemble Rosh HaShana which is the new spiritual year. This time is the first of the ten days.

The Days of Awe in between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur for believers resemble our lifetime. Now that we are new creations in Christ we should constantly be checking to make sure we are in touch with the Holy Spirit and doing God's will. For the believer, it is not so much a period of ten days but a lifetime that we are called for this self introspection.

The last day of the 10 Days of Awe is Yom Kippur. For the believer, this can represent our physical death. We can be thankful that we have Jesus as our High Priest to represent us, thereby being assured of being written in the Book of Life.

From new life (Rosh Hashanah) to death (Yom Kippur), Jesus fulfills this holiday daily in our lives if we allow Him. He does this by sending the Holy Spirit for us to use, to know the will of God. The Holy Spirit's conviction is available now every day of the year. The idea of examining our spiritual growth shouldn't be limited to a certain time of the year. When is the last time, as a believer in Messiah, you took the time to deeply examine your spiritual walk? Is there anything more important than your relationship with God?

The Day of Atonement is complete. Originally on this holiday the priest laid hands on a "scapegoat" and recited the sins of the people, symbolizing a transfer of sins.(1) All of my sins have been permanently transferred to Messiah who has paid the price in full for all my sin penalty by being pierced for my transgressions (Isaiah 53). He is also my High Priest that represents me before the Father, doing so now each day, instead of only one day a year. Messiah fills the role of both High Priest and the transfer of sin sacrifice.

The Talmud has an interesting lesson about a custom concerning this holiday. A red (crimson) string was tied off in the temple and the rabbis would know that Israel's sin was forgiven by this string miraculously changing color from crimson to white (all our sins can be white as snow when forgiven). For 40 years before the destruction of the second temple (which was also the time of the crucifixion of Messiah) the string never changed from red to white. For more on this custom please read Crimson Wool.

Hoshana Rabba is complete.It was on this day that the Gospel of John tells of Jesus speaking at the Water Libation Ceremony. At this time Jesus offers everyone the chance to have "living Water."

On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: Rivers of living water will flow from within him (John 7:37-38).

Jesus used the Water Libation Ceremony as an object lesson and opportunity to make a very public invitation on the last day of the feast for His people to accept Him as the living water. His words here recall Isaiah 55:1. thirsty ...come ...drink. These 3 words summarize a gospel invitation. A recognition of need leads to an approach to the source of provision, followed by receiving what is needed. The thirsty, needy soul feels the craving to come to the Savior and drink, i.e. receive the Salvation that He offers.(2)

By Accepting Jesus as the living water you will receive the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is this Holy Spirit gift that is often referred to as "living water."

Shimini Atzeret is complete: Rain was viewed as a blessing from God. Water was associated with living, life and the Holy Spirit. See what Messiah did symbolically during the Sukkah holiday by using the Water Libation Ceremony to declare His Messiahship.

Simchat Torah is complete. Our Messiah's death and resurrection fulfills this holiday once and for all. With Him came the new covenant promised in Jer. 31:31,Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers...(Jer.31:31) so our cycle of Bible study is expanded. With Him also came the opportunity to live by the Spirit of the law instead of the letter of the law. With Him came the fulfillment of that law that is found in the Torah. ThroughHim we not only read the law but live the law and are credited with its righteousness. Jesus is the ultimate Simchat Torah, because He is the word made flesh. In Him, the cycle of reading only the Old Testament truly does come to an end. Since the New Testament fulfills the Messianic promise of the Old Testament, what better reason could one have for a celebration? A true reading of God's word includes both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Hanukkah is complete. God is found in the miracles of the small army of Israel fighting a winning battle for Jerusalem against a much larger army and temple oil that burns eight days instead of just one. Knowing that God's miracles would be fresh in Israels mind during this holiday, Jesus used miracles to declare to others his divine origin. John quotes Jesus as saying "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him (John 10:37-38)." Jesus wanted the people of his day to see His miracles and believe in Him as a result. His miracles point to his true divine and messianic identity.

Jesus also used this holiday season as an opportunity to declare His divine nature when He cried out; "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30).

Tu B'Shvat is complete. Because now there is no longer a temple to bring the first fruits offering (Pentecost refers to the Messiah as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep), the holiday has taken on a modern meaning of being Israel's Arbor Day.

While the Jewish National Fund is the main organization that plants trees in Israel, there is a forest being built by a combination of Messianic Jews and Gentile Christians. These two groups, both adopted into one family as part of the body of Christ, are building this forest to bring honor and glory to their Messiah. For those who wish to plant a tree in a forest dedicated to Messianic Judaism this can be done. Please contact the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, P.O.Box 274, Springfield, Pa. 19064. Phone 1-800-225-MJAA. There is already a forest planted and trees can be added to it.

Passover is complete because Messiah became the eternal Passover lamb offering. His blood now covers the doorpost of the believers heart and spiritual death now passes over us. We are reminded of this every time we take communion. Since the death and resurrection of Messiah surrounded this holiday an understanding of this completeness is greatly encouraged. For more on this please read Christ In The Passover, Connection Between John The Baptist And Elijah and The Last Supper.

Counting the Omer is complete. This is the time between Jesus crucifixion on Passover and the sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. During this time, Jesus came out of the tomb, showed his resurrected body to others, and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. At the end of this time, day 50, the comforter (Holy Spirit) was sent to those who were waiting for it (Acts Chapter 2). Day 50, Shavuot was also considered a First Fruits offering and on that day, we were offered the First Fruits of believing in Christ, which is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus compared himself to a kernel of wheat in the Book of John:

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (John 12:24).

Israel's Remembrance Day is complete. While Israel mostly focuses on soldiers who died since 1948 (Israel became a state that year), there is one death that is the most important to remember. The Messiah died so all of Israel could be saved. Through faith in Jesus, the Gentile is grafted into the blessing of salvation that has its roots in Israel.

The meaning of Israel has changed over time. It started with just one person (Jacob) and expanded to a nation (his 12 sons that became 12 tribes). Since 1948, it has been a political state. There is also what some consider the spiritual commonwealth of Israel. This commonwealth consists of those people who have been adopted into the kingdom of Israel through faith in Messiah and grafted into the Tree of Life. It is the circumcision of the heart that now makes one Jewish and a part of that commonwealth (Rom. 2:29).

Someday all those who died for Israel will meet their Messiah. We should pray that they know Him first.

Israel's Independence Day and Jerusalem Day are complete. Someday, Jesus will return to earth and when He does, He will rule His kingdom with full majesty as the King of Kings from Jerusalem. Many believe that the Temple will be rebuilt before this happens. God promised He would gather His children from the four corners of the world, and call them back to their land. The recognition of the State of Israel in 1948 has made this prophecy one that is constantly being fulfilled. Israel taking control of Jerusalem in 1967 has allowed for more of this prophecy to be fulfilled. Without control of Jerusalem there could be no rebuilding of the third Temple (Micah Chapter 4). This is another sign that end time prophecy is being fulfilled and that we are getting closer to the second coming of our Messiah.

Lag B'Omer is complete. We know that Jesus was crucified as the Passover Lamb on Passover. The second day of Passover is the first day of counting the omer. We also know that the sending of the Holy Spirit came on day 50 of the counting of the omer, also known as Pentecost. Jesus walked the earth in a resurrected body sometime during the counting of the omer. We cannot say for sure exactly where he was on day 33. We do know, however, that this was 17 days before God sent the Holy Spirit.

Celebrating the 33rd day of the counting of the omer is easy as a believer in Messiah. Faith in Christ allows one to rejoice knowing that through His resurrected body, the sacrifice was acceptable to the Father. One could easily celebrate all 50 days of the counting of the omer for this same reason.

is complete because He chose this day to send the Holy Spirit enabling believers in Messiah to live by the spirit of the law instead of the letter of the law. On the day the law was given, Israel was in a great state of sin because of the worshiping of the golden calf. As a result, Moses ordered the killing of those who insisted on remaining faithful to idols. Around 3000 people were killed that day (Exodus 32:28). On Pentecost, the day that the Holy Spirit came, we can see that in fulfillment of the First Fruits holiday, God allowed 3000 people to be saved (Acts 2:41).

This time when the Holy Spirit would come was prophesied in Joel 2:28. Jesus used this holiday to show that even though He was gone, He could still work in our lives by fulfilling His promise to send what His (our) Father had promised (Luke 24:29).

Since Jesus died on Passover, the 14th of Nissan, and arose three days later, we can say that the Messiah rose from the dead on the 17th of Nissan (First Fruits). That is why He is called the First Fruits of those who rise from the dead. "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20).

The day of Pentecost was a day when believers were circumcised in the heart inwardly and were then able to express their spiritual gifts outwardly. This allowed the Covenant foretold by Jeremiah 31:31 to begin.

Tisha B'av is complete. The Temple is no longer standing for reasons God has ordained. Tisha B'av is complete in Messiah because God has made it clear that the old temple sacrificial system is obsolete pointing toward His Son Jesus, the Messiah, who died on the cross as an eternal sacrifice for all who have faith. Since God has sovereign control over everything, then we can be sure at the very least He has decided to allow the destruction to occur. Perhaps He is sending a message. Perhaps God is saying that the old way of atonement (using substitute animals) I will no longer accept, as proof, I will allow this destruction.

God has always allowed for an avenue of atonement since the first sin in the Garden of Eden. God Himself may have instituted the first substitute sacrifice by clothing Adam and Eve with animal clothing. Would our sovereign God really allow the Second Temple to be destroyed and remain that way for 2000 years without providing a fulfillment of the sacrificial system that made atonement possible in the first place? For confirmation from the Talmud that the Second Temple sacrifices became obsolete the same year Messiah was sacrificed on the cross, please read Crimson Wool.

Fast Days:

Fast Days are complete. The Messiah fasted for 40 days. His good deeds (righteousness) are given to those who have faith in Him. Even though fast days are now complete in our Messiah, He still promoted fasting as a way to increase the effect of ones spiritual walk in their life.

Miscellaneous:

Really, enjoying all of these holidays even though they are complete in Messiah, can bring blessings. The intent should be to gain a better understanding and appreciation for the way each holiday pointed towards the coming of the Messiah and His ability to fill each holiday full of fulfillment and completeness.

The Messiah came to fulfill the law. Sometimes fulfill means to "fill full of." Our Messiah certainly filled these holidays full of meaning.